Florida Medical License Lookup: How to Verify a Physician

How do I look up a Florida medical license?

Last verified: November 2026. Licensing rules and web addresses change, so confirm anything important on the official site. We do not check anyone's license for you, and nothing here is a statement about any individual physician.

Use the Florida Department of Health's License Verification search, part of the MQA Search Portal. The page is the state's official public lookup, and the Board of Medicine's own site links to it from its "Verify a License" menu ^[3]. The official board is the Florida Board of Medicine, and the lookup itself is at the MQA License Verification page ^[1].

Here is how the search works, step by step:

1. Open the License Verification page. No login or password is needed for these public records ^[2].
2. Narrow by board and profession. The search form has a Board/Council menu and a Profession menu. For a physician, pick Board of Medicine and Medical Doctor.
3. Enter what you know. The form accepts a license number, last and first name, city, county or zip code. The state's guide says that entering the exact license number, including the license prefix, takes you directly to the licensee's details, and that more criteria produce a faster, tighter list.
4. Choose a status filter if you want one. The options are all statuses, practicing statuses only, or non-practicing statuses only.
5. Open the record. From a results list, select the license link to see the details. Results lists can be sorted by column and exported to a CSV file.

A few tips help with common names. Add the city or county, or choose the profession, before you give up. If a name returns nothing, try the license number or a shorter spelling of the first name. The profession menu also lists other categories such as limited licenses and out-of-state telehealth providers, so a physician with an unusual license type may not appear under the plain Medical Doctor choice.

What does the lookup record show?

The record shows the licensee's name, license number, status, key dates, primary address and flags for discipline and public complaints. The state's guide describes a "Data As Of" date at the top of the record, which tells you when the information was pulled from the Division's databases, and a "Primary Source Verified" shield confirming the information comes directly from the Department of Health's Division of Medical Quality Assurance ^[2].

Physicians also have a Practitioner Profile, a more detailed page that the guide says is available for professions required to keep one, such as medical doctors. The profile has tabs for education and training, academic appointments, specialty certification, financial responsibility, and proceedings and actions. Not every licensed profession has a profile, so the plain License Verification search is the safer place to start.

Other tabs on the record can include secondary practice locations and a Discipline/Administrative Actions tab, which shows emergency actions, discipline cases and public complaints that are part of the public record. If you only want to know whether the license is current, you can stop at the status and dates. If you are checking a physician before a procedure or a hire, open the discipline tab as well.

What do the Florida license statuses mean?

The search form itself sorts statuses into two groups. Practicing statuses are listed as Clear, Military, Obligations and Probation. Non-practicing statuses are listed as Null and Void, Retired and Closed ^[1].

We only repeat what the state's page says. It does not define each individual status in that filter, and we have not found a plain-language definition list on the pages we reviewed, so we do not guess at the legal meaning of "Obligations" or "Null and Void". The portal includes clickable information icons, and the record shows the dates behind a status. If a status matters to a decision, such as hiring or credentialing, read the dates and any discipline tab, and ask the Board of Medicine office. The Board lists its phone number as 850-488-0595 on its site ^[3].

Do osteopathic (DO) physicians use the same lookup?

Mostly yes, but the licensing board is different. Florida has a separate Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine for DO physicians, with its own website for applying, renewing, verifying and filing complaints ^[6]. The MQA search lists both a Board of Medicine and a Board of Osteopathic Medicine in its Board/Council menu, and "Osteopathic Physician" appears in the profession list.

That means the first thing to do is match the credential to the board. A physician who lists "MD" after their name will normally be under the Board of Medicine, and one who lists "DO" under the Board of Osteopathic Medicine. If you are not sure, leave the board blank and search by name and city. The Board of Medicine also oversees other professions, such as physician assistants and anesthesiologist assistants, which have their own renewal pages on its site.

How do I verify a physician for an employer, a credentialing file or myself?

Start with the record and capture what it shows on the day you check. The printer-friendly version of the record and the "Data As Of" date give you a dated copy for your file ^[2]. Because the record is the state's primary source, it is the usual starting point for an employer or practice manager who needs to confirm that a license is current.

A short checklist for verifying a license:

• Confirm the name and license number match the person you are checking, not just a similar name.
• Check the status and dates, and note the "Data As Of" date.
• Look at the discipline and public-complaint flags and open the Discipline/Administrative Actions tab when they are present.
• Confirm the profession is the one you expect (Medical Doctor versus Osteopathic Physician, or a limited license).
• Keep a dated copy of the record. Licenses can change, so re-check when the license is due to renew.

If you are a physician checking your own record, the same page shows your expiration information. The Board of Medicine's renewal page says license expiration dates can be confirmed online ^[5].

How do I apply for or renew a Florida medical license?

At a high level, applicants for a Florida MD license apply through the Board of Medicine's online licensing system, and the Board's MD page lists the requirements for each route ^[4]. Routes on that page include licensure by examination, licensure by endorsement, and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC). The Board says Florida joined the IMLC in 2024 as its 40th state ^[3].

Education requirements, exams, fingerprinting and fees are set by Florida law and rule, and they differ by route. We do not summarize them in detail here because they change; read the Board's page for your route. Applicants for initial licensure submit fingerprints through an approved Livescan provider as part of background screening.

Renewal happens every two years. The Board's renewal page says MD licenses are split into two groups: Group 1 expires on January 31 of even-numbered years, and Group 2 expires on January 31 of odd-numbered years ^[5]. Renewal involves an online application, a practitioner profile, a workforce survey, a financial responsibility form and the renewal fee, plus continuing medical education. The page lists a 40-hour requirement, including board-approved courses on preventing medical errors and, for DEA-registered doctors, prescribing controlled substances. It also notes that fingerprints must be retained or renewed, and that Florida law now requires electronic fingerprinting for this profession. Check the page for the current list and amounts.

Where can I check discipline records or report a concern?

Discipline and complaints appear in two places on the state's tools. First, the Discipline/Administrative Actions tab on a physician's record lists emergency actions, discipline cases and public complaints that are part of the public record. Second, the portal has a separate Discipline & Administrative Actions search for final orders, emergency actions and administrative complaints, which can be searched by case number or by criteria and dates ^[2].

To report a concern about a physician, use the "File a Complaint" link on the Florida Board of Medicine website. For an osteopathic physician, use the equivalent link on the Board of Osteopathic Medicine site ^[6]. We do not describe the complaint process in detail because we did not review the Department of Health's complaint pages.

If you are exploring healthcare careers, our licenses hub lists other state boards, and the career guides cover related roles such as registered nurses and nurse practitioners. For other lookup guides, see the Texas teaching license lookup. Our editorial policy explains how we handle official sources.